A coaching wheel can help you to create clarity about the areas of the Standard you wish to focus on, and to perform a simple gap analysis about where you are is now, and where you would like to be. You may use this independently or as part of a structured coaching discussion.

Plotting your coaching wheel

Take a few minutes to complete your wheel, consider each point on the wheel in turn:

Think about where you might gauge yourself on the wheel: 0 = really not confident/lots of areas to develop or work on; 10 = feel very confident/accomplished in this area. Think about 'why' you place yourself on that point and mark with a dot where you feel best represents your thinking. You may want to make some notes at the side.

Join the dots round your wheel (see example below)

Looking at the areas you have identified - What do you notice? What stands out? What's the gap? What's your priority? What's most important? What's a key strength? How might these areas impact on each other? (Also see following reflective questions.)

A coaching conversation

The coaching wheels also work well when used with a partner. Once you have finished mapping your thoughts on your wheel, swap wheels and encourage your partner to reflect upon their wheel and any observations they may have - What do you notice? What stands out? What's the gap? What's your priority? What's most important? What is a key strength? (Also see reflective questions below.)

The follow example gives an idea of what a completed wheel might look like:

Reflective questions for a coaching wheel

From your reflections or coaching discussions, select an area/areas of the standard you wish to explore in more depth, you may wish to use the full standard or summary guide on the back of each wheel to unpack this in more detail, some of the following reflective questions may be useful:

How is 'this area of the standard' reflected in your work context?

Where would you like to be with 'this part of the standard' in 6 months/this time next year?

How would you coach a colleague to help them further develop 'this part of the standard'?

How will you seek ongoing feedback in relation to 'this part of the standard'?

What resource do you need to better develop 'this part of the standard'?

What development needs do you have in relation to 'this part of the standard'?

How do you plan your professional learning to enable you to develop in these areas? What support would you require to meet those needs?

In what ways do you engage with professional literature, theory, research and policy to challenge and inform your thinking and practice?

As you develop accomplishment and expertise in a specific area how do you share this with colleagues and lead developments within and beyond the school community?